Knitted article for cleaning purposes



July 28, 1925. 1,547,583

C. S. HOLDEN KNITTED ARTIGLE FOR CLEANING PuRPQsEs Filed Das. 22, 1923..252 oavzor Char les 5. Holden Patented July 28, 1925. i

UNITED STATES 1,547,583 PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES S. HOLDEN, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS,'ASSIGNOR TO HOLDEN KNIT-TING C0., OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHU- SETTS.

KNITTED ARTICLE FOR CLEANING PURPOSES.

Application filed December 22, 1323. Serial No. 682,215.

To all whom t may concern.:

Be it known that I, CHARLES S, HOLDEN, 'a citizen of the United States,residing at Vorcester, in the county of lVorcester and Commonwealth ofMassachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in a KnittedArticle for Cleaning Purposes, of which the following, together with theaccompanying drawings, is a specification.

My invention relates to knitted articles for cleaning purposes and hasfor its object to provide an article which may be readily drawn over thehand and then employed in somewhat the same manner as sponge, or mop,for general cleaning purposes, in either a wet or dry condition.

In my copending application, Serial No. 495,156, filed August 25, 1921,there is shown and described a knitted article and method of making thesame from tubular knitted material. The invention set forth in the abovedescribed application contemplates the formation of a knitted articlesuitable for hand use, by pulling` a length of tubular knitted materialback on itself to provide a mitt of double thickness on both sides. Thearticle resulting from the practice of the above described methodcompletely encloses the hand of the user, and'is admirably suited forgeneral cleaning purposes, in either a wet or dry condition.

The object of the present invention is to provide an article similar inform to the article described in my above mentioned application, butpossessing certain additional advantages. The present inventioncontemplates the introduction of apiece of porous sponge-like materialduring the formation of the knitted article, so that the resultingarticle possesses all the ymoisture carrying properties of a naturalsponge, in addition to the great durability of a knitted article. Theabove and other advantageous features of my invention will hereinaftermore fully appear, reference being had to the accompanying drawings inwhich- Fig. 1 is av plan view of a portion of a continuous web ofknitted material from which my improved articles are to be made.

Fig. 2 is a view of a length of material cut from the web shown in Fig.1, from which a single article is to be made by the performance of thestep illustrated in dotted lines.

Fig. 3 is a view .of the web lshown in Fig.

2 completely pulled back on itself to receivev a piece of sponge-likematerial.

Fig. 4 is a view of the completed article applied to the hand of a user.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view along the line 5 5 of Fig. 4.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the different ligures.

Referring to Fig. 1, a web of tubular knitted material is produced byany suitable knitting machine, certain portions 1 thereof being moreclosely knit than other portions 2 thereof. The portions 2 thereforeappear wider than the port-ions l, and the operation of the machine isso regulated Vthat the' portions 1 and-2 are formed alternately, -withthe portions v2 of greater length than the portions 1.

A continuous vwebof tubular knitted material having been produced, asshown in Fig. 1, separate lengths of material are taken therefrom bycutting every other closely knittedportion 1 along the dotted lines, sothat each length of material thus severed, appears as shown in Fig. 2.The next step in the manufacture of the article is to hold the lengthshown in Fig. 2 at substantially its middle point, while onehalf of thelength is pulled over the other half, as indicated in dotted lines. Theprocedure described thus far is the same as .that described in my abovementioned copending application, and if desired, a band 3 of elasticmaterial may be positioned near the middle of the length shown in Fig.2, so that the band 3 will be enclosed between the layers of thematerial when the latter is pulled back onV itself; j

The article then has thev appearance rof Fig. 3, from which itj isevident that the ends of the half portions 12L and 1* are substantiallyeven with each other, and that the article is then open at'both ends. Itis also obvious that the ,article when in a flat condition, thenconsists'of four separate layers of knitted material,"in.'which theoutside layers surround'the inside-layers and are of one continuous web.

The next step in carrying out my invention consists in inserting a pieceof porous sponge-like material 4 between an outer and inner layer ofknitted material, as shown in Fig. 3. The piece of material 4 ispreferably in the form of a natural sponge, or artificial rubber sponge,or other similar porous material adapted to readily absorb moisture.After the piece 4 has been slipped into place, the ends la and lb aresewed together so that the article is then only open atl Qne end betweenthe inner layers. If desired, suitable stitches 5 are then taken aroundthe edges of the piece 4 to retain the latter in position. The completedarticle then appears as in Fig. 4, in which the article is shown ashaving been applied to a hand ofl the user. The hand is completelyenclosed by the inner layers of knitted materia-l with the sponge-likepiece 4 retained between one inner layer and one outer layer,

i aS clearly shown in Fig. 5.

knitted material, so that it is impossible for the sponge material to bedamaged by contact with external objects. At the 'same V time my articlepossesses all the, moisture l retaining properties of a natural sponge,

andy in fact it has been found superior-to a sponge, by reason of' thefact that the moisture must be squeezed through the relative lydenseouter layer of knitted material.

As clearly shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, the completed knitted articleprovides longitudinal ribs 6 formed in the knitting of the `web shown inFig. l. It has been found that these ribs 6 exert a very eifectivescouring or cleaning action, which is particularly noticeable whencleaning, or washing a smooth polished surface, such as an automobilebody. Vhen using; the article for this purpose, the ribs serve toremove` grease `and dirt stains without in any way damaging the surface.

rlhe web shown in Fig; 1 is preferably knit on an ordinary circularknitting machine from two threads of yarn of different material. Theyarn forming the surface ribs 6 is preferably heavier and stronger thanthe yarn forming the web between these ribs, as for example, when usinga combination of wool yarn and cotton yarn. Consequently, particles ofdirt, or other matter, removed by the scouring action of the ribs 6, aretaken up by the relatively loose material between the ribs and held awayfrom the surface being cleaned.

An additional advantageous feature of my article lies in the facilitywith which it may be supplied with water andv at the same time cleanseitself. The nozzleof a hose may be readily inserted in thel open end ofthe article so that water will pass outwardly through the sponge and theouter layer of knitted material, and it is apparent that if the waterleaves the nozzle with considerable pressure, dirt will be removed fromthe outer knitted surface, particularly from those portions of the webbetween the ribs Gf.

I claim,

l. An article for cleaning purposes, comprising a tube of knitted webdoubled on itself to provide a pair of tubular portions, one portioninside the other portion, a piece of porous absorbent material enclosedbetween the two said portions, one end of the inside tubular portionbeing' open to receive the hand of a user, the tube of' knitted webpresenting longitudinal ribs.

2. An article forI cleaning purposes, cornprising a tube of knitted webdoubled on itself to provide a pair of tubular portions, one portioninside the other portion, a piece bf porous absorbent material enclosedbetween the two said portions, one end of the inside tubular portionbeing open to receive the hand of a user, the tube ofi knitted web`presenting longitudinal ribs of a ma# terial` differing in characterfront the material between said ribs.

Dated this fourteenth day of December, 1923.

oHARLnss. HOLDEN.

